Before the end of the year, there was an interesting story in the imperial capital.

The begonias of the Ye family in the Zhenguo General's Mansion are actually in full bloom in the heavy snow, and the carmine flowers are especially beautiful through the snow, which is so beautiful that people are surprised. The good deeds say that this is the meaning of Ling Han's spring, and it is the auspicious luck that comes from bitterness.

The Ye family is the lackey of the Chen family, and the commander of Gyeonggi Wei is the son of the Ye family. Chu Zhixia had a relationship with this person when he put down the rebellion of the second prince, and he did not leave any impression. Yes, when the post of the poetry club was handed to the Autumn Leaf Mountain Residence, Chu Zhixia's first reaction was - there must be a demon when things are impermanent.

The polo club, poetry club, flower viewing and garden outings in the imperial capital, and the pastimes and gatherings of the daughters never take Chu Zhixia with them. Chu Zhixia offended the sixth lady of the Chen family when he first entered the imperial capital, and she had a fierce reputation, so it is no wonder that the delicate ladies did not like to associate with her.

Chu Zhixia didn't care.

She covered her mouth and nose with one hand, and held a silk handkerchief in the other, pinched the elegant invitation, picked it up and shook it. Fine gold dust was shaken out of the invitation and sprinkled on the table, a beautiful color.

"Miss Chu, what are you doing?" Pei Zhang saw such a thing as soon as he stepped in with his front foot, and hesitated whether to step in with his back foot.

"I'm trying to see if someone is trying to assassinate me." Chu Zhixia's expression was as usual, and he reached out and fanned the invitation, fanning the smell over.

The cotton aroma of gold dust, ink and paper.

No poison.

Chu Zhixia opened the invitation with dignity, and wrote Chu Shixia's hometown surname and title in a regular manner on the head, followed by ordinary polite words, and the payment was a daughter of the Ye family. Chu Zhixia thought for a moment, confirming that he really didn't know this person.

"The Ye family invited you to enjoy the flowers?" Pei Zhang understood at a glance.

"Hmm." Chu Zhixia lost interest, and only treated the Ye family as a play, and put the invitation aside and didn't care anymore.

"Don't you plan to go?"

"I'd rather go to the Crimson Jade Pavilion to push pai gow." Chu Zhi Xia Jiaoerlang said locally.

Chu Shixia learned a good hand of poker skills from Jiang Qiao, and called for wind and rain at the card table in the Scarlet Jade Pavilion, and the old oilman at the table lost so much that he couldn't keep his pants.

Pei Zhang looked at her for a while and said, "The children of the official eunuch and the princess's family will look at each other when they reach the age of engagement." But it's not good to make a big show, so as not to look down on each other and make a mess. Therefore, they generally borrow all kinds of names, such as poetry clubs and polo clubs, to bring together men and women with distinguished status in the imperial capital to play cover. ”

Chu Shixia poured a glass of white wine and put the entire white porcelain cup into a silver basin with hot water. The hot air was so steaming that the aroma of wine quickly spread, and Chu Zhixia was still lazy, "You mean, this flower viewing is actually a gimmick for the children of a certain official eunuch to go on a blind date?" ”

Pei Zhang nodded.

"What does that have to do with me? I don't know the surname Ye. ”

"The men of the Ye family are all married, but this time they are invited by women of appropriate age. There are daughters of Qingliu families, daughters of many noble families, and civilian women with innocent family backgrounds and virtuous temperaments. Pei Zhang said slowly, "It's not the Ye family who wants to see these women—it's His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

Chu Zhixia's eyelids jumped.

The prince's marriage match is generally selected by the inner court, and then selected by the queen and the emperor one by one, and the final selected woman is sent to the East Palace for the prince to choose. There are a lot of involved, and the joints are many and complicated, but it is the first time that Chu Shixia has heard of this by doing this through the hands of his courtiers.

But when I think about it, I don't think it's strange.

The emperor did not wait to see the prince, the queen did not ask about the world for many years, and the prince's previous two marriages were not allowed to end well. The crown prince hesitated to the emperor's suspicions, and he did not move, and now he had to do so—it was really because of his age.

"How many people know about this?" Chu Zhixia asked according to the green tendons that were suddenly jumping out of the corners of his eyes.

"No more than five." Pei Zhang smiled, "Do you think it's easy for me to get this list?" ”

Chu Zhixia picked up the invitation card between his fingers, and said helplessly: "The prince looks at the person who is married, what did the Ye family ask me to do?" If you have lived enough, you want to bring our Chu family to the funeral, right? ”

"I don't know about this, there was no one on that list." Pei Zhang said calmly, "So I think it's better for you to go." You can rest assured that with the prince's scheming, he will not choose you. ”

Chu Zhixia snorted coldly and did not answer.

She took a sip of the warm liquor, her body slowly warmed up, and after a while, she remembered and asked, "What's the matter with that begonia in their house?" ”

——

Twentieth of the twentieth month of the lunar

On the day of the banquet, Chu Zhixia arrived neither early nor late, and happened to be mixed in the middle of a group of warblers and swallows.

Chu Zhixia wore a white fox fur over her long blue skirt, a circle of white fluff on the hood, and her long hair stood up with a dewy green vein. Her outfit was a little shabby, and she was not conspicuous among the bejeweled daughters.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Ye saw her at a glance, greeted her affectionately, and held her hand.

Chu Zhixia was stiffened, standing in place and hiding, not Ying, his teeth were about to be crushed, and a smile came out stiffly. If the emperor knew that Chu Zhixia was pulling and pulling with Mrs. Ye at the gate of the Ye family, he couldn't say what he would think of her.

"This is my fair lady's daughter, right? Looks really like her. Mrs. Ye touched Chu Zhixia's cheek and said with great pity.

Chu Zhixia was stunned.

"My Aunt" is the name of Chu Zhixia's mother, this woman who is hidden under the romance and fame of the old town Beiwang, her natal name is "Shen Yu", and her milk name is "My Aunt". The name Shen Yu is not a secret, but the word "Miao", Chu Zhixia only heard Chu Mingyan mention it by chance.

Shen Yu's origins are unknown, her family background is unknown, and it is unknown whether she still has family members alive. The world knows very little about her, and so does Chu Zhixia. When Chu Zhixia was a child, whenever he asked about his mother, Chu Mingyan was silent.

Just when Chu Zhixia was dazed and thought that Mrs. Ye would say the vulgar sentence "I hugged you when you were a child" in the next moment, Mrs. Ye closed her two plump lips one by one, and said with a smile: "When your brother was born, I also hugged him!" ”

The Lianzhu witty words in Chu Zhixia's throat froze, and he asked sluggishly, "Are you a person from the clouds?" ”

"What stupid are you talking about? Auntie, I'm a native of the imperial capital. Mrs. Ye picked up Chu Zhixia's scattered hair on her shoulders and put it behind her ears, and her movements were intimate and familiar, as if she was taking care of her little daughter.

Mrs. Ye took her hand and walked into the Zhenguo General's Mansion from the jealous or disdainful gazes of the ladies.

Chu Zhixia came back to his senses, lightly withdrew his hand from Mrs. Ye's arm, and took half a step back and said, "Mo Xue doesn't dare to walk with Mrs. Ye, this is disrespectful to the elders, and Mo Xue can't afford it." Please also ask Mrs. Ye to take the first step. ”

Mrs. Ye smiled indifferently, and walked into the Ye Mansion with the corner of her skirt, Chu Shixia breathed a sigh of relief, and followed behind her half a step behind.

Chu Zhixia calmed down from Fang Cai's shock and thought in detail. The "elder brother" in Ye Fu's mouth must be Chu Mingyan rather than Chu Mingxiu. Chu Mingxiu was born in the Zhenbei Palace, and he still had his swaddling clothes in the mansion.

Chu Shixia suddenly found that he knew very little about his eldest brother.

She had never heard that Chu Mingyan was born in the imperial capital - but how could Chu Mingyan be born in the imperial capital?

Before Chu Shixia could come up with a reason, Mrs. Ye in front of her stopped.

There was still snow in the sky, and a patch of carmine burned heavily in the white snow. Chu Zhixia's eyes were suddenly lit up by fiery red begonias, as if he had seen a silent red sunset.

In the courtyard around the garden, a feast was set up early, and many people were already seated.

Mrs. Ye naturally led her to the main table and sat down, Chu Zhixia's scalp was numb, and she couldn't refuse, and scolded Pei Zhang in her heart.

Yu Li, the Chu family in the clouds has the position of prince, Chu Zhixia is the only daughter of the Chu family, and she is a noble county lord; In love, Mrs. Ye said "My Aunt's daughter" on the left, and "I once hugged your brother" on the right, as if she was very close to the Chu family.

Chu Zhixia knew in his heart that there must be no good medicine sold in this gourd, but once he came, he was safe, and there was no other way than to sit down with Mrs. Ye.

Chu Zhixia turned the screen and saw the old man sitting at the table, and then he suddenly realized.

It was none other than the Lord Regent who sat on the throne.

General Ye, who was over half a hundred years old, sat on the side, and the two of them pushed the cup and changed the lamp with a faint expression, not looking like they were very familiar. When the two bad old men saw Chu Zhixia coming, they motioned for her to sit down. Chu Zhixia looked at the empty seats at the table, so he chose the last seat and sat down.

"Why are you so humble at this time?" The Regent glanced at her, "You weren't like that when you punched my grandson in the Jade Fang. ”

"Taishi is joking." Chu Zhi Xia Pi smiled and said, "The elders are here, Mo Xue doesn't dare to overstep them." ”

Mrs. Ye half-truthfully said: "Don't say anything serious, how can it be good to scare my aunt?" Mo Xue looks like a lady of seven or eight points, and I feel pain in my heart when I see it, and I can't wait to think of it as a goddaughter. ”

Chu Zhixia said politely: "Mrs. Ye is even making fun of me. Although I have never met my mother, I don't know that my mother also has a deceased in the imperial capital. But my brother said that I don't look like my mother—the brother you once held. ”

Of course, it was impossible for Chu Mingyan to say such a thing.

There is not a portrait of the old princess in the Zhenbei Palace, and Chu Mingyan has never mentioned his mother. Chu Zhixia knew one of the few things related to his mother, that is, the thirtieth day of the first month, his mother's birthday. Chu Mingyan would close the door on this day and burn paper for his mother alone.

This Mrs. Ye is explicitly hinting at Chu Zhixia in and out of her words-I know your mother, I have a very good relationship with your mother, you come and ask me.

Chu Zhixia didn't eat this set.

Although "mother" was a vague and faceless shadow in Chu Zhixia's mind, Chu Zhixia didn't believe that his mother would harm his "old friend" with an old person like Mrs. Ye.

She is a hostage in the imperial capital, and her small life can be taken care of by many people, including the emperor. If the emperor suspects Chu Zhixia of colluding with the Ye family, that is, suspects Chu Zhixia of getting on the regent's thief ship, the Chu family will not end well.

If Mrs. Ye is really her mother's friend, she should stay away from Chu Zhixia, and don't break this relationship for the rest of her life. Instead of interpreting "loving aunt and niece" in public, it caused others to gossip.

Chu Zhixia asked with a smile, "Do you really know my mother?" Could it be that you are waiting for the idle to change but the old people's hearts, and after a long time, you have forgotten the appearance of my mother. ”

Mrs. Ye's face became a little ugly.

"Your big brother is talking nonsense."

This time it was the Lord Regent who spoke.

The regent raised his eagle eyes, which were as deep as a knife, and said to Chu Zhixia, "You do look very much like your mother. Didn't you notice that your father didn't like you all along? That's because when he sees you, he remembers how your mother died. ”